The American Mafia hascaptivated the attention of moviegoersand television audiences for decades now.The Godfather,Goodfellas, andThe Sopranosare just a few of the examples that come to mind when discussing the creative depiction of organized crime in the media. Video games have been represented as well, such as the aptly titledMafiafranchise.
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TheMafiaseries is certainly entertaining, offering players a small glimpse of what life is like in the American Mafia. However, their representation of mob life is quite wide of the mark in certain respects, which is understandable given that video games must entertain first and foremost. Nevertheless, there are a few key points worth bearing in mind regarding how theMafiafranchise misrepresents the brutal realities of living life as a mobster.
5Vito’s Induction Ceremony
Mafia 2tells the story of Vito Scaletta, an Italian-American immigrant and WW2 veteran who slowly gets drawn into the world of organized crime out of a need to provide for his family. Eventually, Vito’s hard work in Empire Bay’s underworld pays off. He gets inducted into the Falcone Crime Family, one of the city’s threemajor Mafia syndicates.
The induction ceremony is a mixed bag in terms of accuracy. On the one hand, the scene is true-to-life in its depiction of drawing blood from the initiate’s trigger finger and burning an image of a saint while reciting an oath of allegiance. However, the fact that members of other Mafia families (such as Leo Galante and Frank Vinci) are present at Vito’s ceremony is inaccurate.
Although Mafia families often cooperate with each other when it comes to their various moneymaking schemes, they are still principally rivals, often engaging in low-level vendettas and wars. Made members of other families would certainly know of Vito’s status in the Falcone Crime Family, but attending his induction in person is actually rather outlandish.
4The Very Public, Wanton Violence
The over-the-top violence seen in theMafiagames is easy to forgive considering they’re action-adventure romps at their core. The flashy action sequences and shootouts, however, are not illustrative of the violence seen in real-life organized crime. The escapades witnessed in theMafiafranchisebelong in aDie Hardmovie.
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The Mafia is, by its nature, a secret society. The whole point is not to be noticed by law enforcement! If real-life mob families acted the way they do in these games, they would be finished in short order. Mafia payback isn’t spectacular or awe-inspiring. Rather, it tends to be up-close-and-personal and oftentimes sickeningly violent in a way that video games would have a hard time portraying faithfully.
3Shootouts With Cops
As stated earlier, the goal of a secret society is to avoid notice, particularly by law enforcement. In all threeMafiagames, the protagonists take part in grand shootouts with the police, an idea that the real-life mob would consider anathema to their continued existence.
Unlike their counterparts in Italy, the American Mafia has historically regarded targeting politicians, lawyers, law enforcement agents, and other public officials as a big no-no. It was thought that killing these types of officials would bring too much heat and ultimately considered more trouble than it was worth. That’s not exactly how theprotagonists of theMafiaseriesapproach things!
2Vito’s Second Chance
The Mafia isn’t exactly big on giving second chances. It’s more of a “shoot first and determine guilt later” kind of organization. Major slip-ups aren’t looked upon kindly and can easily result in the death of the perpetrator. By the end ofMafia 2, Vito has made such a mess of things that the idea of his mob superiors giving him a second chance is a hard pill to swallow as far as reality is concerned.
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Arguably Vito’s most egregious sin is impulsively murdering another made man, Derek Pappalardo, a powerful capo in a rival family. In theory, nobody is supposed to murder a made man without approval from a higher authority. There’s usually a valid reason for this, such as discovering that someone is an informer, like Vito’s friend Henry.
Killing a made man without higher approval typically results in an instant death sentence for the guilty party. The fact that Vito is allowed to redeem himself afterward is incredibly hard to believe from a practical standpoint.
1Tommy Joins The Salieri Family Overnight
The originalMafiais a great game, though certain aspects of the story are a little unbelievable. A good example occurs at the beginning of the game when Tommy is inducted into the Salieri Crime Family almost overnight. After destroying a few cars belonging to the rival Morello Family, Tommy is instantly welcomed into the fold by his boss, Salieri.
Trust is a tricky thing in the Mafia and it’s certainly not given lightly. The idea that Salieri would allow Tommy inside his inner circle when the two barely know each other is almost comical. It’s a reckless move for a mob boss to trust so easily!Mafia: Definitive Editionreworked this issue a bit better, implying that Tommy worked for the Salieri Crime Family for some time before being given more important responsibilities.
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